The decision to let them in the cockpit cost the lives of all 75 passengers.⛈️

These are the chilling final words of a pilot who tragically allowed his children to sit in the cockpit and pretend to control the plane, leading to one of the deadliest accidents in aviation history.On March 23, 1994, Aeroflot Flight 593 experienced a catastrophic crash, killing all 75 passengers and crew onboard. It remains one of the most devastating and preventable crashes in history.

The flight was on its way from Moscow to Hong Kong during the late hours of the night. Among the crew was Captain Andrew Viktorovich Danilov, who had an impressive 9,500 flight hours under his belt. He was joined by First Officer Igor Vasilyevich Piskaryov and Relief Captain Yaroslav Vladimirovich Kudrinsky, both of whom were also seasoned pilots.

Despite the extensive experience of the crew, none of the pilots could anticipate the series of errors that would result from allowing children to interact with the plane’s controls.This particular flight marked the first international trip for Kudrinsky’s children, Yana, 13, and Eldar, 15. Wanting to make the journey special for them, Kudrinsky invited them into the cockpit, a decision that ultimately proved disastrous.

Although regulations strictly forbid such actions, the crew believed the autopilot system would ensure safety. They assumed the children’s interaction with the controls would be harmless since the plane was not meant to respond to their inputs.

The tragedy occurred on an Aeroflot flightJoanValls/Urbanandsport /NurPhoto via Getty Images

First, Kudrinsky’s daughter Yana was allowed to sit in the pilot’s seat at around 12:43 a.m. She playfully pretended to fly the plane while it remained on autopilot.A few minutes later, at around 12:51 a.m., Kudrinsky’s son Eldar took his turn in the pilot’s seat. He was permitted to move the controls, again under the assumption that the autopilot would keep the plane steady.

Just under four minutes later, however, a sequence of errors began to unfold that would result in catastrophic consequences.

At 12:54 a.m., Eldar continued to manipulate the control stick for over 30 seconds. The pressure he applied, which reached up to 10 kilograms, interfered with the autopilot’s adjustments to maintain stability. As a result, the system switched from autopilot to manual mode without the crew’s awareness.A subtle indicator light blinked to alert the crew that Eldar had partial control of the plane. Unfortunately, due to their unfamiliarity with the non-Soviet aircraft, the crew did not notice this critical warning.

The aircraft began to bank, and with the autopilot disengaged, it could no longer maintain altitude, leaving it vulnerable to the dangers of its unstable position.

Recognizing the danger, Captain Kudrinsky quickly instructed the co-pilot to regain control while moving Eldar away from the controls to resume command of the aircraft himself.He was recorded saying: “Eldar, get away. Go to the back, go to the back Eldar! You see the danger don’t you,”

His voice became increasingly desperate as he continued: “Go away, go away Eldar! Go away, go away. I tell you to go away!”

The pilots fought desperately to stabilize the plane and nearly succeeded. Unfortunately, their attempt resulted in an overcorrection, sending the aircraft into an almost vertical climb.The sudden climb caused the plane to stall, ultimately spiraling into a spin. It began losing altitude rapidly and fell below the minimum safe level as it passed over mountainous terrain.

At 12:59 a.m., air traffic control at Novokuznetsk waited for the flight’s routine position update. However, no message came, and the flight disappeared from radar shortly after.

The pilots attempted to regain control, but were ultimately unable to do soYouTube/MorfoAtari

At 12:58 a.m., just over two minutes after the series of events began, Flight 593 crashed into the Kuznetsk Alatau Mountain range in southern Russia’s Kemerovo Oblast. The impact, which occurred at a high vertical speed of approximately 160 mph, completely destroyed the aircraft.All 75 passengers and crew onboard were killed instantly. Aeroflot initially denied any fault by the crew, but later investigations revealed human error as the primary cause, supported by the cockpit recordings.